How Does “Madame Web” Fit Into the “Spider-Man” and Marvel Movie Universes? What to Know Before Seeing

'Madame Web,' in theaters now, stars Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney

Dakota Johnson's Madame Web is touted as a "different" kind of superhero movie, and it's one that stems from the world of Spider-Man.

In it, Johnson, 34, plays a New York City paramedic named Cassandra Webb who gains clairvoyant abilities that allow her to see the future. Her newfound powers intertwine with three young women: Julia Cornwall (Sydney Sweeney), Mattie Franklin (Celeste O’Connor) and Anya Corazon (Isabela Merced).

The group is confronted by a man in a masked costume named Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim), who also has the ability to see the future on top of powers fans of the Spider-Man movies will recognize.

"I wasn't super into comic books before. This was a new world to me, so it was Cassie and this movie that brought me in," Johnson told PEOPLE at the movie's premiere in Los Angeles Monday.

"It's about female empowerment and women supporting each other and protecting each other and stepping into their own power."

Madame Web is based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. The character originated in a 1980 comic as an elderly medium who Peter Parker meets and recognizes as a super-powered being, according to Marvel.com.

Her powers are closely connected to Spider-Man and other spider-powered characters from the comic books. The characters Sweeney, O'Connor and Merced play in the movie are younger versions of characters who use the names Spider-Woman and Spider-Girl at various points in the comics.

The new movie falls into Sony's larger universe of Spider-Man-related projects that began with 2018's Venom, starring Tom Hardy.

The studio produced the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield–led Spider-Man movies plus the animated Spider-Verse films and co-produces Tom Holland's Spider-Man films with Marvel Studios. It's releasing Madame Web alongside a third Venom film and the upcoming Kraven the Hunter later in 2024.

Related: Madame Web Exclusive Video: Dakota Johnson and Cast Tease a 'Different Kind of Superhero Story'

Those movies and 2022's Morbius each build around Spider-Man adjacent characters for a universe Sony has developed.

While Spider-Man himself has yet to appear in any of these movies, Madame Web shares some familiar characters and references.

Adam Scott plays Ben Parker, whom Spider-Man fans will recognize as Peter's uncle whose death serves as the hero's origin story. Meanwhile, Emma Roberts plays Mary Parker, Peter's soon-to-be mother.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

A number of characters in Madame Web also had appearances in Sony's 2023 animated movie Across the Spider-Verse as members of the larger interconnected world of Spider-powered heroes.

Despite all these connections, however, the new movie intends to tell a standalone story.

“She’s definitely in a standalone world,” director SJ Clarkson told Entertainment Weekly. “I was able to just have free rein and let the movie be what it needed to be, as opposed to trying to force it into something else. That was a gift, in a way, to be able to take something and bring a fresh and I hope original take to it.”

Related: Aaron Taylor-Johnson Joins Spider-Man Universe in Bloody Trailer for 'Kraven the Hunter'

Still, Jeff Gomez, a former Sony story consultant, recently told Variety that Sony could use Madame Web as a means of connecting the disparate storylines down the road.

“Madame Web, in the comics, tied together the multiverse for Spider-Man characters,” he said. “The purpose of doing that movie — I would think — would be to essentially set up a superhighway between universes.”

An official synopsis for Madame Web reiterates that the film is "the standalone origin story of one of Marvel publishing's most enigmatic heroines."

"The suspense-driven thriller stars Dakota Johnson as Cassandra Webb, a paramedic in Manhattan who develops the power to see the future and realizes she can use that insight to change it. Forced to confront revelations about her past, she forges a relationship with three young women bound for powerful destinies — if they can all survive a deadly present."

Madame Web is in theaters now.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.